Infant formula to Walmart
Goat milk formula marketer, Bubs Australia, has made more inroads into the hungry US infant formula market, striking a deal with the big Walmart group to stock its tinned products in about 800 stores.
The company, which also markets cow's milk nutritional powder, has made the most of a national shortage of infant formula having previously being signed up by Washington's Food and Drug Administration to ship 1.25 million cans to help supplement local production.
One of the major manufacturers in North America was forced to stop production after a contamination outbreak earlier this year, which in turn, created an unexpected opportunity for imports to break into the market.
Bubs has supplied Walmart stores in the US Midwest and central states with about 85,000 tins of infant and toddler formula after last week filling a cargo aircraft chartered by the US government.
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Co-ops make an impact
Revenue from Australia's biggest co-operative and mutual businesses grew 10 per cent to $34.4 billion last financial year, despite widespread economic impacts arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest annual national mutual economy report from the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) shows Australia's top 100 member-owned businesses have combined assets of $181b.
Profitability across the top 100 showed an average annual rate of growth of 28.7pc in pre-tax earnings across a five-year trend, with best performances recorded in agribusiness, motoring, and financial services.
The largest co-op by turnover was the West Australian grain business CBH group with revenue of $3.9b and net earnings of $133.7 million, while the largest by gross assets was Queensland's Great Southern Bank at $16.3b.
Australia has more than 1832 co-op and mutual businesses with a combined membership of more than 31.7m.
A BCCM summit attended by about 40 co-op chiefs in Sydney has just explored how the sector, which has recently seen a wave of mergers, can achieve scale and continue to thrive against a backdrop of high inflation and surging input costs.
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Flat pack wines
A robust early response from consumers to wine packed in recycled PET plastic suggests winemakers will make greater use of the new flat plastic bottles.
The big Accolade Wines group has been selling flat bottles of its Hardy's brand in Europe for two years and has just released the Hardy's and Banrock Station labels in flat "eco-bottles" in a trial through Liquorland and First Choice retail outlets in Australia.
The family-owned Taylors Wines' One Small Step brand is also selling in flat plastic containers (pictured).
The rectangular-styled eco-bottle, made by Melbourne packaging company Packamama, is about 80pc lighter than conventional cylindrical glass bottles, which cuts freight and logistics costs for winemakers.
Wine in the new plastic containers has a shelf life of about 18 months and is therefore not being marketed for cellaring, although Packamama expects improved recycling technology will see eco-bottles able to be stored for at least three years.
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US wine market helper
Australian winemakers can now access a dedicated online tool to help them target the US market thanks to the Australian Government's Agribusiness Expansion Initiative.
The USA Wine Market Tool is a jurisdictional map that can be filtered by wine laws, market structure, channel availability and wine producer preference, highlighting US states based on filters including tiers of pricing opportunity, commercial opportunity, information about legal constraints on alcohol sales, direct to consumer models and distribution structure by state.
"The US market holds great potential for Australian winemakers, but it is not an easy market to crack", said Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Tony Battaglene.
"It isn't a single wine market, but rather 51 market opportunities, each requiring a unique approach to sales and distribution".
"Our best opportunity to mitigate the impacts of the trade disruptions with China is to diversify our exports across a broader range of markets."
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ESG in ag explained
Global environmental, social and governance expectations have become a hot topic with customers, processors, bankers, insurers and investors, but what does ESG mean for those in agriculture?
A conference at La Trobe University's Wodonga campus on July 28 will provide a chance to learn more about what ESG is, and what changes it is bringing for farm sector producers, processors and retailers.
Convenor on behalf of the North East Catchment Management Authority, Chris Mirams, said consumers and investors were no longer looking for superficial answers, but rather were digging deeper to build knowledge and trust and align purchasing decisions with their values.
"Our ESG score cards will determine who we will be doing business with in the future," she said.
Conference speakers include National Australia Bank's head of ESG risk management, Rosemary Bissett; JBS Foods Australia's sustainability group manager, Sam Churchill; Coles head of commercial and strategy, Jason Colosimo, and Elders wool business development manager, Michael de Kleuver.
An evening dinner will hear from corporate chef and product development manager with Meat and Livestock Australia, Sam Burke.
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Help a country student
The Country Education Foundation is hoping for a surge of donor help to take advantage of a generous $250,000 available to match any contributions made during June.
CEF funds support tertiary students in regional areas needing financial assistance for travel to university or TAFE, study materials, technical equipment, accommodation, or trade tools.
"This powerful opportunity has been presented by a generous supporter to help make a difference and close the education gap for rural and regional youth," said CEF chief executive officer Juliet Peterson.
The CEF's June promotion features one of its recent grant recipients, Jayden, whose apprenticeship tools were paid for by the foundation.
He will be the first in his family to qualify with a trade when he completes his training.
- Contact Country Education Foundation via info@CEF.org.au or phone 1300 652 144.
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The imports we like
Australians continue to have a 96 per cent preference for Australian-made goods according to data from the Roy Morgan research organisation shows.
However, if we do choose imports, Australian consumers are 60pc more likely to buy goods made in New Zealand than any other foreign country - although that figure dipped one percentage point in the year to March.
Also faring well are goods made by two of Australia's closest allies, with preference for imports from Britain up three points to 57pc and the US, up five points to 54pc.
Of Australia's top 10 two-way trading partners, preferences for goods rose for five countries, including the UK and USA, with Singapore to 39pc, Malaysia to 25pc, and India to 21pc.
Preferences for imports from Japan dipped to 51pc, Germany to 50pc, South Korea to 32pc and China 21pc - all down one percentage point.
Notably, a clear 65pc majority of Australians also said they would be less likely to buy products made in China, an increase of five per centage points in 12 months and a massive 21 points up from two years ago.
Over 70pc of people born before 1960 were less likely to buy Chinese imports compared to a bare majority of 56pc in Generation Z (born between 1991-2008).
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Agri-cultured Tasmania
Northern Tasmania combines agriculture and entertainment with live music, farm tours, and dining experiences at Launceston's annual agriCULTURED festival from August 4 to August 7.
The event celebrates the contribution of the agri-food sector to the culture, community and Tasmania's economy.
Seeking to influence the trajectory of Australia's agri-food and tourism sectors, it brings together farming families (and their sheds), with chefs, artists, musicians, and composers to celebrate the passion that goes into producing, farming, and food provenance.
It also provides a forum for industry to connect with professionals and industry leaders.
Among those speaking at events this year are landscape designer and TV host, Costa Georgiadis; former chef and food critic, Matthew Evans, and Gardening Australia presenter and author, Hannah Moloney.
Day Two (August 5) includes food and agriculture related workshops in Launceston.
Event chair, Theresa Chapman, said Australia had ambitious targets for agriculture and food as it headed towards 2030 and with demand for innovation in sustainable practices continuing to grow, opportunities to collaborate and share information were essential in achieving those targets.
- Tickets are available at agricultured.com.au
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